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Could those early viewers who laughed through the initial SpongeBob adventures have envisioned the series enduring for a 25 years, even after absorbing the most surreal of narrative twists? This longevity is partly attributed to its wide-ranging appeal, amusing the funny bones of adults – perhaps even those former students – as well as the very young viewers. While it may not feature anything quite as unexpected as the legendary David Hasselhoff appearance in the 2004 movie, this fourth feature has no qualms about having Clancy Brown talk like a pirate while handing out payments to stars like Barbra Streisand. This proves everything can still in the zany world of Bikini Bottom.

An Established Goofy Groove

Kicking off with a holiday short featuring Paramount's other weathered family favorites, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the new SpongeBob movie soon settles into a recognizably silly groove. Its storyline acts as a PG-rated treatise on the pros and cons of maturity. This iteration of SpongeBob (again brought to life by Tom Kenny) now stands 36 clams high, a detail that excites him as it at last allows him to experience his fantasy coaster. (An early, psychedelic laugh: our overexcitable hero's fantasized loop-the-loops.) However, as in the best contemporary American animation, the true rollercoaster is the twisting narrative.

The Adventure for Swashbuckling Credentials

SpongeBob's mission to obtain the fabled swashbuckler certificate that will declare him a “big guy” brings him into a showdown with the ghostly Flying Dutchman, brought to life by the suddenly ubiquitous Mark Hamill. Although the Dutchman's ship introduces a larger scale, the movie's aesthetic remains a delightful bricolage of digimation and hand-crafted components, consistently showcasing satisfying, properly cartoonish effects.

If its spitballing silliness will linger when the lights come up is debatable, but it's a solid SpongeBob movie.

Memorable scenes include SpongeBob squeezing himself into an air conditioner and emerging somehow more rectangular than before; a cameo from a pair of chattering joke-shop false teeth; and a penalty guaranteed to delight the younger audience: our hero being forced into endless dishwashing.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, Search for SquarePants is a reliable addition to the franchise – and perhaps the most humorous Pirates of the Caribbean movie recently, including a hearty Davy Jones gag and a saltily suggestive catchphrase for SpongeBob's friend Patrick: “The best guys are big guys.” One thing is clear: those original students will probably be snickering all over again.

Release Dates: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants debuts on 19 December in the US, 20 December in Ireland, and December 26th in Australia and the UK.